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Lady of shallot, climber or bush?

11 months ago

So went to a local nursery and almost purchased one but didn’t from conflicting info. they had a sign saying it was a bush, it the david austin tag said it was a climber? david austin website also has a listing for both climber and bush. so confusing!

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Comments (12)

Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
11 months ago
I grow Lady of Shallot and mine sends up the occasional octopus cane but I would never consider her a climber.
BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
11 months ago
Agree with Kristine, LOS is a bush with a few sprawly canes. Maybe not even an octopus, just a squid.
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Lady Hillingon: climber or bush form?
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Thank you for the encouragement - I have a bush LH which has only achieved 2 canes that are maybe 24 inches high, and no flowers, after two years. I thought it might be a dud. It is in a bed where it got a lot of shade a large part of the day, but there were other tea roses in that same bed that were doing well. I hoped that, for this one, lack of light was the problem, not "duddiness". For that and many other reasons, we had a very very large tree that was shading that bed cut down recently. I am happy to report that, even though it is still quite chilly here (lows in the 30s at night), LH has suddenly started putting out a lot of new growth, I presume responding to the additional light. That along with the lovely pictures of the gorgeous LH bushes you have posted has encouraged me to see what it does in the next two years. Jackie
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Please help with Lady of Shallot
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I grow my Lady of Shalott as a 5' shrub. The first year or two I didn't do much of anything except feed and water it. At some point during the second year two of the canes started stretching up--obvious wanted to climb something! I cut them back a bit lower than the normal height of the shrub, and I may have had to do a bit of touch up pruning of those two canes somewhat later. The Lady seems to have received the message and has been growing as a shrub ever since. I have another Austin--Mortimer Sackler--which can be a tall shrub or a climber. It worked pretty much the same as the Lady--second year, a couple canes obviously wanted to reach for the sky. I trimmed them back--maybe did a bit of touch up pruning later and then pretty much left the bush alone. I seem to remember that a year or two later, I trimmed back a couple canes during the spring pruning, but I don't think I've done any other pruning of this shrub. It's really not much of a hassle. If you want it to climb, plant it fairly close to an arbor or trellis. That way it can't grow outward (bushy); instead, it reaches upward for the sun--and thus makes a good climber. My Lady of Shalott is in a fairly open spot--which hopefully encourages her to bush outward. Good luck with your Lady. Kate
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Munstead Wood/Lady Shallot/Lady Emma Hamilton/orPrincess Anne
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Comments (9)
I am near you - about 3 hours from Galveston in east Texas. I love my Tess. I have her on a huge fan shaped trellis - she has very healthy foliage and lots of nice blooms. Two of my favorite Austins are Carding Mill and Abe Darby. Wollerton Old Hall, new for me last year, does get really big, don't find the blooms fragrant like Austin says, but they are pretty. Sophy's Rose is a really good one - healthy foliage, lots of big pretty deep pink blooms. Bishop's Castle is good. Lady of Shallot looks to be big. I have quite a few new ones that are healthy and growing - they will do better next year. Great big for me are James Galway and Scepter d'Isle - like them a lot. I have Lady Emma and Munstead Wood planted where they get full sun until 2pm - hope they like it there. I really like Ambridge Rose too. Love the blooms on Jude......mine is very small though. I am getting another Young Lycadis - my chickens were scratching in that bed and killed it. The color is a different, brighter looking pink that I really like. Englands Rose was new for me last year - it started off looking and blooming fantastically.....then it starting dawdling around. Am hoping it will get going again in the spring - it was really nice. I want to try Princess Alexandra of Kent - have heard good things about it. Do any of you all plan to try the new Austins? I want Boscobel, The Lark Ascending.......not sure about the others. caldonbeck, the photos are fabulous! Judith
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Lady of shallot
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Comments (9)
I started with three and then added more to form a hedge. It's at the edge of my front lawn by the road where it gets pelted by snowplows all winter; she's one tough lady. Anyhow the original 3 are mature, they have remained just under 5'. The canes can get longer but they are sturdy, they bend and form a fountain shape. Also she responds very well to pruning. Some varieties with long canes tend to blossom just at the end of the canes, so you sacrifice bloom when you try to curtail tall growth. Instead, LoS responds to pruning by sending out laterals, hence more bloom.
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Diane Brakefield
11 months ago
It's Lady of Shalott. As I have mentioned, she's not a vegetable. Diane
BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
11 months ago
We did not call her a fancy french onion, we suggested she’s seafood, but we couldn’t agree on which one.
Diane Brakefield
11 months ago
Very good, Ben. Diane
Feiy (PNWZ8b/9a)
11 months ago
Ben & Diane, oh you're so funny! I can't stop laughing!

Kristine, what size is your LoS? I'm thinking of growing another one in my backyard as a shrub but have no clue how big she will be.

LoS seems happy here and sent a few 6' canes out in the first two years. Since my garden is tiny and I grow her in a shallow bed, I train her as a short climber against a trellis. This is how she looked like last June.

This year she is taller and fuller(more laterals). Looking forward to seeing her perform in one month. *finger crossed*
librarian_gardner_8b_pnw
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
Mine is most definitely a climber. She reached the top of this 9 ft trellis in her second season as an own root in my garden. This year I'm trainingtraining several canes across the top but don't have a new photo yet as my blooms don't start for several weeks. yet.
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
My LoS is definitely a climber in FL. At our old place we had some t-posts set up with a 10ft piece of field fencing on it. We had LoS espaliered on it. She is still in a pot here. I am still working on finding a place for her.
Mx Chino
Original Author
11 months ago
So my confusion was justified lol.
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
11 months ago
Now I'm confused too. Maybe because mine is part fancy

Onion but 6ft is the tallest that it gets.
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
11 months ago
last modified: 11 months ago
I think, like many Austins, it depends on which zone/climate it is grown in if its going to climb or remain shrub-like. With many Austins & even Kordes roses, I need to assume its going to get 6 to 10 ft taller than stated in the company's description. We have no winter die back here and only a few hard freezes but not enough cold to knock a rose down so they keep growing and blooming throughout the winter.
Steve_M in PA
11 months ago
@sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish) - Yes, I think LoS is in that "tweener" range. I have seen it in some gardens on YouTube and it was putting out thick, 10ft canes. It had to be pruned quite a bit to stay a manageable shrub. But other places, especially colder zones, it may only be a few feet tall.

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